chirrup CEO Elon Musk plain trusts Wikipedia more than any expert oraudited reportand uses it to make crucial decision about imperativeness freedom .
Musk told NPR reporter Bobby Allyn on Monday evening that he use a Wikipedia page on“Publicly - fund broadcasters”to determine which outlets receive Twitter ’s controversial new “ Government Funded Media ” recording label on their profiles . According to the company ’s updatedhelp clause on medium account labels , Twitter consider outlets to be “ Government Funded Media ” when “ the government provides some or all of the outlet ’s backing and may have varying stage of authorities liaison over editorial content . ”
The avail article includes a connexion to the Wikipedia “ Publicly - funded broadcaster page ” stated that Twitter “ may use international source like tothis onein rescript to limit when this label is applied . ” Over the weekend , Twitter slap “ Government Funded Media ” labelson NPR , PBS , the BCC , and Voice of America News .
Screenshot:Jody Serrano / Gizmodo / Wikipedia
When Allyn told Musk that the U.S. government activity does n’t have any tilt over NPR ’s editorial decision , the Twitter CEO dismiss his account . U.S. political science fundingonly represents about 1 % of NPR ’s entire funding .
“ If you really call up that the regime has no influence on the entity they ’re funding then you ’ve been marinating in the Kool - assist for too long , ” Musk said .
NEW : Elon tell me Twitter is using this listing to define which media outlets get the “ government - funded media ” recording label : https://t.co / so88LVos1 m
A screenshot from Twitter’s help center that explains how it defines “government-funded media.”Screenshot:Jody Serrano / Gizmodo / Twitter
When I pointed out that NPR ’s regime support does not effect the mesh ’s editorial decisions , he told me :
“ If you really …
— Bobby Allyn ( @BobbyAllyn)April 10 , 2023
Gizmodo reached out to NPR for comment on Tuesday morning but did not immediately receive a response .
The word that Musk is using Wikipedia to make decisions about media label is the in vogue twist in the nearly calendar week - long fight with NPR and other outlet over their editorial independency . The play start up last Wednesday whenTwitter affixed NPR ’s invoice with a “ state - affiliated media ” label , which is the same label Twitter utilize to know state propaganda outlets like China ’s Xinhua News and People ’s Daily as well as Russia ’s RT .
The “ province - consort medium ” label , besides being inaccurate , also appeared to come out of the blue , as NPR ’s Twitter chronicle previously did not have any recording label . NPR stopped tweeting in objection and said it would n’t resume tweeting until the label was removed . The outlet has not tweeted since April 5 .
In the sidereal day that surveil , Musk decided to change NPR ’s “ United States Department of State - associate media ” label to a newly - produce “ Government Funded Media ” recording label and also mystify the label on the BBC , PBS , and VOA . The BBCimmediately protest its new labeland reached out to Twitter to ask the company to transfer it , stress that it was funded by single UK households through the“license fee system”and was editorially independent from the government .
TheBBC put out a story object to its newfangled recording label on Monday , where it stressed that is “ and always has been , independent . ” Musk told the BBC that he was moot wander out a label that would relate to the mercantile establishment ’s exact financial support sources .
“ We are aiming for maximum transparency and truth . Linking to possession and origin of monetary resource belike makes common sense . I do think media organisation should be self - mindful and not incorrectly arrogate the complete absence seizure of prejudice , ” Musk said , as reported by the BBC . “ All organizations have bias , some obviously much more than others . I should note that I follow BBC News on Twitter , because I think it is among the least predetermine . ”
Unlike NPR , the BBC has continued to apply its Twitter invoice ( @BBC ) . Strangely , not all of the outlets Twitter accounts have the “ Government Funded Media ” label .
PBS and VOA also pushed back against their new label , the Hill reported , and warn that it could give the populace the amiss impression .
“ The label ‘ governance funded ’ is potentially misleading and could be construed as also political science - controlled ’ – which VOA is most certainly not , ” a VOA spokesperson said . “ Our editorial firewall , saint in the law of nature , prohibits any interference from government official at any storey in its news reportage and editorial conclusion - making process . ”
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